'Mustafiz regaining his old form'

Getting back full fitness was key to Mustafizur Rahman as he is regaining his old form with passing days, said Bangladesh interim coach Richard Halsall. Mustafizur did not get a five for against Zimbabwe but what he did in the middle looked to impress everyone as he managed to demonstrate his cutters and slower with a lot of menaces. The left-arm pace bowler was desperately looking for an answer to shut down the mouth of his critics as his recent form turned out to be a major concern for the team management.

Mustafizur suffered a shoulder injury in England and later had it operated but since returning from it he did not put up any performance that would leave a long lasting impression on his public mind. He bowled well in parts and pieces considering one or two spells against Sri Lanka in their last Test series during their historic win against and on one or two occasions at Ireland during the tri-nation that involved host and New Zealand.

It was necessary for the pace bowler to regain his confidence as he sustained the ankle injury in the series against South Africa that forced him to miss the ODI and T-20 series following the Test series. 'If you look at elite baseball, lots of their pitchers have a similar injury. Pitchers throw at 90 mph, but it takes them two years to throw at 90mph,' Halsall told reporters at Mirpur on Tuesday when he was asked how he sees the comeback match of the young pace  bowler. 

'I think Mustafiz is 18 months since his injury. He bowled the cutters and his pace is creeping back up to 85mph,' he said. 'His cutter is brilliant as ever. His top-end is going up a mile an hour every week,' he said. 'It makes the cutter more effective. His confidence is coming back,' he said.

According to Sakib al Hasan, Mustafizur performance was important but he insisted it would harsh to say he was under-performing in the past. According to Sakib al Hasan, Mustafizur performance was important but he insisted it would harsh to say he was under-performing in the past.

-AA Correspondent